March Weekend

The spring migration has begun.

The yard is filled with these cute little Dark Eyed Juncos.

They won't be here for long.

And the robins have returned.

Despite our mild winter they came back

three days later than last year.

 

Of course we headed out to Pike Lake.

Hopefully for the last time having to wear

winter gear.



We fed Chickadees, as usual.

The feel of those little feet on my hand

always shocks me the first time.



 

Athena fed this little guy too.

Unfortunately, he bit her while trying

to get a seed from between her fingers.

The skin wasn't broken but a few tears

were shed. She says it shocked her more than anything.

 

Cute little fellow.

In hindsight I actually can't believe why

I would let her hand feed a wild animal.

Probably a good thing we didn't encounter

any coyotes. :0



This scraggly moss was the only green I saw out there.

The snow is melting away quickly these days.
Soon enough everything will come to life.

I feel so much gratitude that we live

a short 15 minute drive from this

beautiful place.

We could barely see this grouse.

Animal camouflage is amazing.





And now we are home good and tired

and very hungry.

Ribs are in the oven and the wine is breathing.

We will all sleep well tonight.

22 March 2012

I realized today that if I want to keep him around for another

thirty years that I am the one who has to make the changes.

I am the one who has to make the right food.

He is a grown man but somehow he just doesn't get it.

  

He loves Chinese food.

And bird wings.

And cookies.

And beer.

But I make the menu plan.

I shop for the food, although he does do a lot of that for me.

I prepare the food.

I present it to him.



I am busy and on my feet most of the day.

In the evening, I'm done.

I want to knit, read, visit with him.

He sits in a chair, in a car, on a plane.

In the evening he should walk, run, ride.

I should accommodate that.

I should go with him

or at least encourage him to do it.

Gosh, we never know how many days we have on this earth.

We never know what tomorrow holds.

And wouldn't I feel sad if tomorrow never came

and there was something I could have done about it?

Nothing bad has happened.

Nothing new has been diagnosed.

We have had no "warning signs".

But when your husband is gone as much as mine is

and when you love him as much as I do,

it makes you want to cherish every day

that you do have.

And it makes you want to keep him with you

as long as you possibly can.



21 March 2012

The skies on the prairies are beyond compare. Vast and blue, more days than not.

The spring migration has begun. I am chronicling their arrivals and am making myself attempt a watercolor of each new bird. This gives me a reason and a subject to paint. I am clearly a beginner but it is something I have always longed to do.

The snow from the storm is melted now. And as the nursery rhyme goes, "March wind doth blow."  And she does. Often .Especially in Saskatchewan.

(Dark-eyed Junco)

20 March 2012

The day began all sparkly white. Yesterday's storm brought rain and snow. The power went out in the morning and w spent the day in front of the fire Paul made.

Today, a lot of the snow melted. I shoveled while Athena made robot snowmen with a 10 gallon pail. Later in the evening, the robots resembled baby Emperor penguins. So "Athena" to have penguins and robots instead of traditional snowmen.

The sky is a blue grey and it changes back and forth from snow to rain. A typical Saskatchewan Spring Equinox.

Manifesting My Life?

manifesting:

Manifesting is an eclectic hodgepodge of CYOR (create your own reality), visualization techniques, positive thinking, goal-setting, self-analysis, selective thinking, and post hoc reasoning, supported by tons of anecdotes. The purpose of manifesting is to get what you want by actively making your dreams come true, rather than passively waiting for someone to fulfill your dreams.  (Definition from The Skeptic's Dictionary.)

I have been thinking a lot about manifesting. Manifesting what I want my life to be like. In fact, I read about it in three different places in as many days. When I mentioned this to one person she said "There are no coincidences." Which made me think of it even more. Another person told me to call it prayer if the word manifesting doesn't sit well with me. Truth be told at first (possibly even up until this moment) I thought it was hocus-pocus. Yet all around me I see other people "manifesting" things in their lives.  Can this really be true? Or is it just another way for us to fool ourselves?

For instance, I gave it a try. I am not sure if I was to say it out loud three times with incense burning or fall on my knees with my hands folded in prayer. I wrote down what I wanted as far as a living situation would be. I wrote things like:

- 3 bedroom

- yoga space

- classroom space

- trees

- large garden are!!

- close to amenities

- wood stove

- freedom for Athena to roam and play

- lots of windows

- no septic tank!

It kind of looked like this:

I wrote this in my journal on February 2nd. It felt silly to write it. What I read about manifesting was that you were to be really specific, and so I was. But then I started to think about how all this 'wanting something more' was actually me being a spoiled brat. It was like I wasn't satisfied with what I have and that is not the case. I love my home. I have always been one to be happy with what is. To hold things loosely. I do not have a list of things that I want to have. Not at all. Sometimes I think that looking on Pinterest also makes me think about things that I don't really need and didn't even know I wanted until I saw it. Just like commercials on TV aimed at children. They didn't even know the thing existed and now they can't live without it. 

But today, I really want to grow a big garden. I want to have a few chickens. I want a bunny to run around outside in the backyard. Something for Athena to play with and cuddle. These are not bad things to want. They are simple things. Still, I just can't seem to shake the idea that I am somehow dissatisfied with the wonderful place that we do live in. When I re-read my list, I have most of the things already. All but a garden. Other than that, I have it pretty good here in this 'oh so small' town of ours. It won't keep me from looking at real estate ads for a small farm or acreage. Maybe one day the perfect place will come up for sale, or maybe one day lightning will strike all the 50 foot spruce trees that surround my yard and the sun will be able to shine and I can then have a garden of my own. Maybe one day.

(all images from Google Images) 

Still Here

I can't believe that I haven't blogged in almost two weeks.

Funny because Paul was away for most of last week.

One would think I had piles of time on my hands.

When he is away I like to have a long 'to-do' list.

It makes the time go by more quickly.

Today's post will feature some pictures from the last week.
I have a few things to write about but I am still

going over them in my head. Thinking things through.

I'll post when I have a clear line of thought.

This first picture is from inside the house in the front room.

I applied a "frosting" to the window as our neighbors

kitchen window looks on an angle through this window.

The new privacy is nice but the shadows cast by the

sun through the cedar outside of it change with the changing seasons.

Each mornings 'artwork' is a little different from the days before.

The sun is almost always shining into my kitchen.

I have been spending a lot of time there these days

and the warm sunlight is an added bonus.

Shortbread cookies.

Not just for Christmas around here.

Signs of spring are everywhere.

We got a huge snowstorm last week.

Somehow my extended family blamed me

just because I was wishing for snow all winter.

All of that snow is nearly melted away.

  

And last week's full moon.

I wish I could capture her better.

She was beautiful.



 

Athena and Eden, my granddaughter, had a sleepover.

We had a full and busy weekend.

Snowmen were made, hikes were taken and

my beloved Chickadees were well fed.

Even Daddy got in on the feeding this time.

Later on we had some company for dinner.

Slow roasted chicken, baby potatoes with dill and cream, salad,

white bean dip with toasted pita triangles.

Vanilla ice cream with last seasons stewed rhubarb on top.

Nice company, good food, great day!